We said last week's edition of the Bundle would be the last until the New Year, but we hadn't counted on this week proving so eventful. Two new supreme court justices have been appointed - both male, to the disappointment of some, and one a keen viola player - and the court has agreed to hear Julian Assange's appeal against extradition to Sweden in a panel of seven.

Joshua Rozenberg contributed to a lively discussion about some of the possible candidates: "I see no reason why Dinah Rose QC, the outstanding lawyer of her generation, could not be fast tracked to the Supreme Court," said monkey2. "Dinah Rose is certainly the outstanding lawyer of her generation and it would be better if we had an appointments system that recognised the skills she possesses," replied Joshua. " But I don't think that she would want to do a Sumption and I would certainly not recommend that myself."

"I'm not in the business of making rich lawyers richer," he said. "[But] in that area [the bill] may be going too far. I want to hear all the arguments. It's right that it should be debated."

Ken Clarke, on the other hand, described efforts to save legal aid as "well-intentioned legal paternalism". Sadiq Khan riposted:

"What the legal aid bill amounts to is the stripping away of the ability of the poor and the squeezed middle to take action against large public and private corporations when they are wronged through intent or negligence. We, and others, have offered suggestions of other ways to save money but these have been arrogantly dismissed."

Peter Lodder, the outgoing chairman of the Bar Council, made the case for looking at the creation of a contingent legal aid fund, or Claf - an acronym you may hear more of:

"In simple terms this is a pooled fund to support damages claims, with successful claimants paying a proportion of their awards back to the fund, the lawyers being paid on a noncontingent fee basis."

JOBS OF THE WEEK

AND FINALLY

What is the "elephant test"? Who quoted Virgil in an effort to convey a painful legal episode? And is joint ownership of a cat evidence of family life? All is not necessarily revealed in our Christmas law quiz. Tweet us your score @Gdnlaw.

If you're looking for last-minute presents or thinking of ways to spend a voucher, Joshua Rozenberg, Jon Robins, Owen Bowcott, Alex Aldridge and other Guardian Law regulars divulge their - everything from Michael Connelly to Douglas Murray's book on the Bloody Sunday inquiry, with some free online reading thrown in.

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